Simply put, this equation tells us that mass and energy are two forms of the same thing. In the right condition, mass can turn into energy and energy can turn into mass. Mass must speed up to turn into energy, and energy must slow down to turn into mass.

Why does the mass have to be accelerated a full double multiple of the speed of light to achieve the state of energy? Does it have to speed up a full multiple of 2? Or does it mean just something more than 1?

And if so, how much does mass need to speed up past the absolute speed of light to turn into energy? Couldn't anything past just the speed of light achieve the same thing?

Well, yes, but then you run into the problem of infinite possibilities of fractals, or fractions of whole numbers

Let’s take a look at a fractal. Fractals are continuously dividing and diverging, or combining and converging, but each unit is a copy of the whole.

Simply put, a fractal is:

In nature, it can be found in the branching of a tree

or in the bronchioles of our lungs

In mathematics, we know that the primary unit is the quantity of 1. All the rest of mathematics is used using either a multiple or a fraction of the number 1.

Now ask yourself: “Can I name all the quantities greater than the quantity of the whole number of 1?” The answer is “no,” because there are an infinite number of fractions available to be cited that are greater than the whole number 1.

Is it 1.1?

Is it 1.01?

Is it 1.001?

Anything in mathematics, N = > 1, could be any of those.

Is it possible that Einstein, not wanting to split hairs, just upped the speed of light in the multiple of the number 1 squared -- just to be done with it?

So, could it have been that, rather than continuing to calculate “E = mc1.1” or “E = mc1.01” and continuing on, ad infinitum, he just bumped it up to the next whole number multiple of "2", closed his notebook, and went outside for a walk?

“See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.”― George W. Bush

The Propagandist wrote:Why is the speed of light squared in E=MC²?...Is it possible that Einstein, not wanting to split hairs, just upped the speed of light in the multiple of the number 1 squared -- just to be done with it?

So, could it have been that, rather than continuing to calculate “E = mc1.1” or “E = mc1.01” and continuing on, ad infinitum, he just bumped it up to the next whole number multiple of "2", closed his notebook, and went outside for a walk?

Well, you asked.

Every equation in physics must be what is called dimensionally consistent. That means the various units of quantities on the left side of the equation must be the same as the units of quantities on the right side.

There are four basic quantities in physics -- distance, time, mass, and electrical charge. Other quantities, like velocity, acceleration, energy, force, momentum, etc., are measured by units derived from the four basic units. A unit of velocity, for example, is measured as one unit of distance per unit of time. Thus, miles per hour, feet per second, meters per second, centimeters per second, etc.

The word "per" indicates division. So units of velocity in equations are indicated by cm/sec in the standard scientific metric system.

By Newton's equation (Force) = (mass) times (acceleration)it turns out that force is measured in units of (gram)(cm)/(sec)², which is called one "dyne" of force.

Energy, such as potential energy given to a object by lifting it up high, is measured by (force) times (distance). The basic unit is called an "erg" which is one (dyne)*(cm), or one (gram)(cm)²/(sec)².

Energy (E) is the left side of Einstein's equation. The right side is mc², where m is mass and c is the velocity of light. Velocity is measured in (cm)/(sec), so the units for c² will be (cm)²/(sec)². So the units for mc² will be (gram)(cm)²/(sec)², matching the units for the left side of the equation derived in the previous paragraph.

If the equation had any other exponent for c other than 2, then the units on the left side would not match the units on the right side.

Ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have. -- James Baldwin